Yet another self-created tool because we don't have the budget...

DOE is cutting right and left as they prepare for the worst. This means I'm left to fend for myself. This means no CRM besides what our watered down version of Kenexa can provide. In order to keep ahead of all of the outside emails I get on a regular basis (20+ daily) I decided to find a free solution.

Automatic email generation in order to connect potential candidates (or those coming in from consortiums, ect) to my talent gateway, relevant information, facebook and twitter! Seems simple right? I understand some people get to use their nifty CRM tools, Constant Contact, and such... but when you're in the wild, you have to fend for yourself. So Zoho Creator offers an ability to come up with my own creative solutions.

Features:

Customized rich text field - URL masking, bolding, lists! Wow!

Personalized greeting

No more BCC'ing the masses or using up valuable space on the email server

Email "reply-to" Zoho admin ID - in this case a company email alias that I created

Message log - I can track who I've contacted and keep email addresses for future recall through a customized report view